


she's so hard to please (but she's a forest fire)

by blkvelvets



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 12:18:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10490739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blkvelvets/pseuds/blkvelvets
Summary: if it were anyone else, this would be ridiculously cheesy, but this isn’t just anyone else, it’s cheryl blossom and veronica thinks that if anyone deserves a love straight out of a romance novel, it’s her.





	

when cheryl blossom shows up at veronica's apartment door at three in the morning, sobbing with inky black mascara running down her face, veronica doesn't ask any questions. she lets her in (like she always does), makes her a cup of piping hot chocolate (like she always does), and holds her until she falls asleep (like she always does). 

cheryl always finds a way to slip out before school starts. they don't talk about those early mornings where no words are exchanged, just gentle touches and meaningful glances. 

veronica doesn't quite know what their relationship is - they aren't quite friends (friends are nice to each other - most of the time) but they aren't enemies either (enemies don't sleep in the same bed together every night). 

betty is the first person to notice - betty has always been so good at reading her best friend. she knows veronica like the back of her hand, and she knows what it means when veronica's eyes track cheryl's from across the room. she can feel the tension between them sometimes, the unspoken words and questions floating in the unknown. 

“what’s going on between you and cheryl?” betty finally asks over a milkshake at Pop’s.

“i don’t know what you’re talking about,” veronica feigns innocence, takes another sip of her milkshake, and braces herself for the conversation she is unwilling to have.

“don’t act dumb, ronnie,” betty sighs, studying the other girl closely. “you know exactly what i’m talking about.

“okay, amateur nancy drew,” veronica throws her hands up in mock defeat. “you caught me. cheryl and i are.. friends.”

“and?” betty prompts, waiting to hear more.

“we’re friends and that’s all.”

“i don’t know why you’re lying to me, ronnie,” betty pouts. she’s not stupid - something more than friends has to be happening between veronica and cheryl. “but you’re lying to yourself too if you think that you and cheryl are seriously just friends.”

///

for the first time in what feels like forever, cheryl isn’t at veronica’s door that night. or the next night. or the night after that. veronica wouldn’t necessarily say that she misses the redhead, but her disappearance is hard to ignore - her bed feels emptier, colder without cheryl. 

then cheryl starts ignoring her at school - more that she usually does, at least. no more sniping comments during vixen practice, no more not-so-subtle stares from across the room. betty comments over their strawberry milkshake that at least she’s left veronica alone (“and now all of her anger is focused on me, thanks a lot ronnie.”) and yet, veronica is hurt. maybe hurt isn’t the right word - anger? disappointment? how could cheryl enter her life and then disappear like a fleeting gust of wind?

but she convinces herself that it’s no big deal, just cheryl returning to her normal, bitchy self, and tries to learn how to sleep alone. 

///

veronica lasts two weeks - fourteen days, and then she snaps.

she can’t take it anymore. the endless silent treatment is getting to her. she skipped vixen practice on tuesday and on thursday, and cheryl hasn’t even bothered to reprimand her about it. and yeah, maybe veronica has been skipping practice more often and blatantly going against cheryl’s orders to get some of cheryl’s attention on her - the point is, it isn’t working.

and as much as she hates to admit it, veronica misses her. she misses cheryl, all bark and even more bite. she misses the late nights in her bed and she misses practices where they would tease each other relentlessly and she misses chemistry classes where they would instinctively glance at each other and stifle giggles when reggie made a dumb mistake. and she doesn't know just how she got so attached to the older girl, but what she does know is that she won’t stand for this any longer.

“cheryl, what is your problem?” veronica hisses, crossing her arms and cornering cheryl in the empty locker room after practice - she’s done being mopey and sad. cheryl has unleashed the storm that is a scathed veronica lodge, and she is determined to make her regret it.

for a split second, cheryl almost looks scared. but then she remembers just who she is, and her stone cold facade reappears just as fast as it vanished. after all, veronica may be a fierce storm, but cheryl is a hurricane. “i don’t have a problem, lodge. now, if you’ll excuse me, i have more important things to do.”

 _lodge._ that hits veronica like a ton of bricks - cheryl can’t even bother to use her first name. she raises her chin and squares her shoulders, meeting cheryl’s glare head on. “you’ve been ignoring me. and you don’t come over anymore.”

“seriously?” cheryl raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow, flipping her hair over one shoulder and scoffing. “you’re mad because we’re not best buds? news flash, lodge, you’ve been slacking off lately. don’t think i haven’t noticed. if you want to worry about something, i’ll give you something to worry about. next time you miss a practice, you’re off the team.”

“cheryl-“

“and, hey, it’s not my fault that you’re foolish enough to think that i actually liked you. that we were really friends. because, _ronnie_ , the truth is, i’m not ignoring you,” cheryl’s laughing now, a bitter, ugly laugh that echoes around the empty locker room, bounces off the black lockers and hits veronica where it hurts. “i just don’t care about you.”

cheryl leaves, heels clicking against the cold floor and tears streaming down her cheeks, and doesn’t look back. 

///

_**betty: so, you still haven’t talked to cheryl?**_  
_**veronica: i don’t want anything to do with her**_  
_**veronica: she’s the devil incarnate. she’s a snake. she’s the taylor swift to my kanye west. you can’t trust her**_  
_**betty: would now be a bad time to tell you i have a message from cheryl?**_  
_**veronica: that’s a definite yes**_  
_**veronica: goodnight betty! :)**_  
_**betty: i’m not going to tell you what to do. but, should you find yourself bored tomorrow at 7 pm, i know someone who wants to meet you at pop’s**_

///

veronica knows this is a bad idea. she’s been sitting in her car for fifteen minutes, listening to the radio and trying to quiet all the thoughts circling around, pounding and screaming in her head. it’s 7:10 now, (“if you’re going to go, you should be a little late. leave her on her toes - don’t let her have the satisfaction of knowing you care,” betty had advised) and veronica knows that it’s now or never. she could go in and face the girl that had been haunting her thoughts ever since that day in the locker room, or she could drive home and never think about cheryl blossom ever again. 

naturally, she chooses to go inside.

and then she sees cheryl, sitting aloof in the gang’s usual booth, and her breath is literally knocked away. the redhead is stunning, as per usual, and veronica is so blown away that she almost - _almost_ forgets to be angry. veronica coughs and cheryl looks up, startled, like she had given up on veronica even showing up.

“veronica,” cheryl breathes, eyes glistening (is she going to cry, veronica thinks to herself. she better not cry) and voice trembling. “i didn’t think you were going to show up.”

“well, i’m here now,” veronica smiles weakly. she doesn’t have it in her to be angry - all that vanished the moment she walked into the diner. 

“the car’s outside,” cheryl says abruptly, tearing her eyes away from veronica at last. “i wanted to take you somewhere.” 

veronica wrinkles her nose at that, wondering where cheryl could possible want to take her. maybe to the river, to drown her and get rid of her at last. or to the creepy blossom attic, to lock her in there once and for all. but instead she follows cheryl out the diner and into the pick up truck parked in the lot outside.

“this isn’t your car,” veronica notes as cheryl starts the engine and backs out of the parking lot.

“correct.”

“cheryl,” veronica begins, faux concern dripping from her voice. “did you steal someone’s car?”

cheryl laughs, and for a moment, the awkwardness between the two is broken - for a moment, they are just two teenage girls laughing in a borrowed car, with all the past drama and feelings and emotions gone. “it’s kevin’s. he’s letting me drive it while my parents have my keys.”  
veronica is tempted to inquire further, poke and prod at cheryl until she finds out the reason as to why the blossoms took cheryl’s keys, but cheryl falls silent and she takes that as a cue to be quiet until they arrive at their destination. 

///

by the time cheryl stops the car, it’s pitch black outside. they’re in a clear field that veronica’s never been in before - not that veronica finds herself outside of Riverdale that much anyway. 

“what are we doing?” veronica asks, swinging open the door and jumping out the car to follow cheryl back to the bed of the truck. cheryl is carrying blankets and veronica almost thinks that cheryl kidnapped her to camp out in the middle of nowhere, despite the fact that camping is decidedly the most un-cheryl activity she can think of. 

“we’re talking, veronica, duh,” cheryl rolls her eyes at veronica, seemingly regaining some of the bite she is oh-so-infamous for. she reaches a hand down to pull veronica up to the truck bed, and veronica realizes, almost painfully, that this is the first time she’s felt cheryl’s touch in months. 

they settle down, layers of blankets across their lap as veronica gazes into the sky. it’s cold, but she’s too proud to scoot closer to cheryl - they aren’t at that point yet. the silence stretches on between them, cold and unforgiving.

“i’m sorry, veronica,” cheryl breaks the silence first, reaching across the blanket to clasp veronica’s hand. veronica flinches - she’s not quite used to that touch, but she doesn’t draw away, either. “i was,” she pauses here, searching for the right words. “i was being stupid. and i was unnecessarily hurtful. and i understand why you’ve been staying away from me. but i just want you - no, i need you to know that what i said wasn’t true. i do care about you, ronnie, a lot.”

“then why did you say it?” 

“i was scared. i was running away from my problems.”

“what problems?” veronica asks gently, rubbing circles in the back of cheryl’s hand. now it’s cheryl’s turn to stare up into the sky, avoiding veronica’s gaze. “cheryl?”

veronica’s never seen cheryl look more vulnerable than she does right now. tonight almost reminds her of that night at the drive-in with kevin, when she had been cuddling with cheryl under the night sky. all of that feels like decades ago - all she can see now, all she can feel is cheryl next to her, her question hanging heavily in the air between them.

“you,” cheryl finally responds, taking a deep, shuddering breath. “i’ve been running away from you, and the way i feel about you, and that’s why i disappeared from your life, ronnie, and i’m sorry, i’m so so sorry,” cheryl sounds like she is on the brink of tears, and veronica doesn’t think, just pulls her close, arms tight against cheryl’s back as she draws her in.

“shh, shh, it’s okay,” veronica whispers. “i forgive you, it’s okay - here, look at me.”

cheryl leans back from veronica’s embrace, sniffling as veronica cups her jaw and wipes away her tears with her other hand.  
“look at the sky with me, cheryl,” veronica soothes the other girl, pointing up at a cluster of stars while simultaneously stroking cheryl’s arm in an effort to calm her down. cheryl rests her head on veronica’s shoulder and follows her finger with her eyes, glancing up at the stars. “they’re beautiful, just like you.”

cheryl laughs at that, wrinkling her nose at the other girl. “you’re such a sap, ronnie.”

“i’m being serious!” veronica grins and wraps an arm around cheryl.

cheryl gasps suddenly, pointing up at the sky. “shooting star! make a wish.” sure enough, there’s a streak of light piercing the dark sky, burning brightly and dashing through the stars. 

“what did you wish for?”

“if i tell you, ronnie, it won’t come true.”

veronica laughs and leans forward and kisses cheryl like she’s been waiting for this very moment for the past few months, and it’s something out of a romance novel, the way they’re cuddled under the night sky as a shooting star streaks above them - and if it were anyone else, this would be ridiculously cheesy, but this isn’t just anyone else, it’s cheryl blossom and veronica thinks that if anyone deserves love straight out of a romance novel, it’s her. 

“wow,” cheryl grins. “looks like my wish came true after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> as always, follow me on tumblr at @vxronicablossom for more :)


End file.
